So it is with some relish that Skate Canada’s high performance director takes on what is essentially a general manager’s role for the figure skating team event at the Olympics.

He put together a silver-medal winner in Sochi in 2014 and is looking to go one step further in Pyeongchang. And, like many National Hockey League GMs, he’s counting on the veterans in his lineup to win the one-on-one board battles.

“We definitely look at how our skaters have performed internationally this season, how they have done against the athletes who we perceive will be in the team event,” said Slipchuk. “What helps us is we are returning 10 people from the Sochi Games who were either in the team event or were there for the team event, so everyone understands how it goes and I think that experience goes a long way.”

In Pyeongchang, there will be 17 Canadian skaters at his disposal: two men, three women, three pairs teams and three dance teams. At most, 10 of them will compete in the team event.

It begins with athletes from 10 countries skating the four short programs. Points are awarded in descending order of placement from 10 to 1. The field is cut to five teams for the free skates; points awarded again in descending order from 10 to 6.

Medal winners are determined by adding up the points from all eight skates per finalist country.

In Sochi, Russia took the gold with 75 points, 10 more than Canada, while the USA won bronze with 60.

Kaetlyn Osmond said last week that she is “guaranteed” to skate the short for Canada, and would be happy to be called upon to skate the long as well.

“We’re prepared for that,” said her coach Ravi Walia. “There is a rest time, especially for the women compared to the other disciplines. And she’s in great shape. She’s ready to do whatever she needs to do.”

Walia has also been coaching Patrick Chan in both Edmonton and Vancouver. Chan will skate the short in the team event, as will the pairs team of Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. It’s also quite likely that the dance team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will get the nod for the short programs.

Slipchuk didn’t have to fill out his initial lineup of six skaters — one man and one woman, a pair and a dance team — until Feb. 8, the day before the men and pairs skate their short programs, so he wasn’t confirming their strategy in advance.

“It’s shared among the group. We do keep it close to the vest because we’re two weeks away,” he said in late January. “Things can change. You have an idea what the other countries might do but until the names are put forward, you don’t know.”

Each country is also allowed to sub in two entries for the long programs, which are skated on Feb. 9 and 12.

“We’re definitely keeping that option open,” said Slipchuk, who adds that he consults with the skaters’ individual coaches on team event decisions.

In Sochi, they subbed in Kevin Reynolds for Chan on the men’s side, and went with pairs team Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch for the long program, after using Duhamel and Radford for the short. Osmond and the dance team of Virtue and Moir went the distance.

“We felt we had the right combination, which we did,” said Slipchuk. “It was based on who we had in the mix.”

Canada celebrates their silver medal in the figure skating team event at the Sochi Olympics on Feb. 9, 2014.Jean Levac /
Postmedia Network

Canada is certainly favoured to advance to the long programs, along with the United States, Japan and a team comprised of Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR). The remaining finalist will likely be either China, France, Germany or Italy.

“A lot of it after the short program depends on which countries are qualified in the top five for the final and who we get a sense of who our people will be against,” said Slipchuk. “That will give us a better sense of how to strategize as a team.”

The experience of going through the team event in Sochi, and winning a silver medal, has informed their strategy this time around.

“You’re just so used to going to an Olympic Games to do individual events. We learned a lot of things on the magnitude of it and how to better prepare for it four years later,” said Slipchuk.

“And we feel that regardless of what other countries’ strategies are, we’re very happy with the team we have. It’s probably one of the strongest Olympic teams we’ve had.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.